Dr. Gupta on New Research about the cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Posted Nov 04 2009 10:01pm

Dr. Gupta talks about the new research on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome on his blog, here is an excerpt…

Imagine feeling profoundly lousy for months, even years at a stretch. On many days, you can’t even get out of bed. Sleep doesn’t help. You go to the doctor, get tests, but a diagnosis remains elusive – and treatments incomplete. That’s what life can be like for people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

More than one million Americans have CFS, a debilitating illness researchers have been studying for some 20 years. There are few clues to what causes it (infectious agents? toxins?). And many questions (how do you treat CFS? Isn’t it really just a ‘fake’ illness?).

Now, researchers in California say chronic fatigue syndrome may be linked to the presence of enteroviruses — viral microorganisms that reside in your gut. Using endoscopies, researchers analyzed stomach tissue biopsy samples from patients with CFS – and found more than 80% of them had high levels of viruses in their digestive system. (All 165 patients had gastrointestinal complaints as part of their CFS litany of symptoms.)

Dr. Gupta talks about the new research on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome on his blog, here is an excerpt…

Imagine feeling profoundly lousy for months, even years at a stretch. On many days, you can’t even get out of bed. Sleep doesn’t help. You go to the doctor, get tests, but a diagnosis remains elusive – and treatments incomplete. That’s what life can be like for people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

More than one million Americans have CFS, a debilitating illness researchers have been studying for some 20 years. There are few clues to what causes it (infectious agents? toxins?). And many questions (how do you treat CFS? Isn’t it really just a ‘fake’ illness?).

Now, researchers in California say chronic fatigue syndrome may be linked to the presence of enteroviruses — viral microorganisms that reside in your gut. Using endoscopies, researchers analyzed stomach tissue biopsy samples from patients with CFS – and found more than 80% of them had high levels of viruses in their digestive system. (All 165 patients had gastrointestinal complaints as part of their CFS litany of symptoms.)